John clicks!

In the Office

2012-01-11T01:55:00.000-08:00

Caught in a relaxed mood in the office by Abhishek Tiwari

Ronnie's Passport Photo

2011-11-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

Ronnie's Passport Photo

Girl in violet - Nisha and Benzy's daughter Shannon

2010-06-20T03:05:00.000-07:00

Benzy and Nisha's son Jayden

2010-05-10T03:30:00.000-07:00

Shannon & Jayden. Benzy and Nisha's children.

Ronnie on bike

2010-05-09T23:59:00.001-07:00

ronnie bike
Originally uploaded by johnpmathew

Ronnie on his bike. He has graduated to a CBZ now.

me in office

2010-05-09T23:51:00.001-07:00

me in office
Originally uploaded by johnpmathew

When Old Friends Meet!

2010-02-25T22:40:00.000-08:00

Ganga and Suma, Geeta looks on, jealous?

Ganga and younger sister Latika

Spot the guy wearing the stringed jasmine.

Ajit, Geeta, Me (myself), Suma

2010-01-06T04:40:00.000-08:00

With the Adarsha Vidyalaya school gang

Me and Ganga

Accepting Bids at the Church Auction

2009-11-02T00:30:00.000-08:00

Here I am shouting myself hoarse during the auction in the church's Harvest Festival.

Cafe Leopold, Colaba Causeway

2009-10-05T04:47:00.000-07:00

A picture I shot of Cafe Leopold which was attacked by terrorists on 26 November 2009. Leopold is situated on Colaba Causeway, a glam shopping and entertainment area (Times Square, well, sort of) and you can shop for shawls, antiques, clothes (both designer and local "darzi-made") and enjoy the night life in one of the most happening areas of Bombay, where the Taj Mahal Hotel and the Gateway of India is situated.

2009-09-07T05:58:00.000-07:00

In a pensive mood at the Caferati's fifth anniversary meet at Kihim beach.

CBD Belapur Station

2009-09-07T05:56:00.000-07:00

CBD Belapur station, early in the morning when I entrain on the way to work.

2009-08-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

The Bombay Gymkhana (hope the name still stands and it's not Mumbai Gymkhana now! What do I care?) a prominent landmark in Bombay. Behind it is the VSNL telecom tower.

2009-08-07T02:29:00.001-07:00

The gateway of India looks soothing in the soft lights of the night. That is, considering what it went through on November 26, 2008 when terrorists attacked the Taj Hotel just opposite it.

The Sterling As It Looks Now

2009-08-07T01:47:00.000-07:00

The Sterling has a special place in my heart. Many are the movies I enjoyed here right from college days. Now it's a multiplex with Subway, fast food, and sundry other things besides.

My sister Lillyammama

2009-05-22T03:29:00.001-07:00

the family
Originally uploaded by johnpmathew

My eldest sister is in the middle with her husband standing behind her. To her right is her daughter Jessie and to her left are Jessie's son Albie and my brother Joy at my sister's house in Kerala.

2009-03-31T03:10:00.000-07:00

This is me at Kala Ghoda singing my poem "Welcome to Kala Ghoda" which was written at a workshop on transforming poems into songs conducted by Jeet Thayil and Suman Sridhar.

Singing My Poem "Welcome to Kala Ghoda"

2009-03-16T05:26:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of me singing my poem "Welcome to Kala Ghoda" which was composed in a workshop ("Setting Poetry to Music," or something similar) run by the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. The workshop was conducted by Jeet Thayil and Suman Sridhar who provided insights into how a poem can be converted into music. I want to explore this a bit more, as the process of music creation holds a lot of promise, money-wise and fame-wise.

We Friends from Forty Odd Years Ago Got Together, Again!

2009-02-19T03:36:00.000-08:00

JohnImage(211)

2009-02-08T19:49:00.001-08:00

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2009-02-08T19:46:00.001-08:00

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2009-02-08T04:50:00.001-08:00

Harsha Dahejia author of Mumbai Footpaths

2009-02-08T04:12:00.001-08:00

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2009-02-08T04:06:00.001-08:00

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2009-02-07T19:25:00.001-08:00

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2009-02-07T19:21:00.001-08:00

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2009-01-31T06:14:00.001-08:00

The Azad Maidan Where I Used to Play Football

2009-01-19T23:42:00.001-08:00

JohnImage(002)
Originally uploaded by johnpmathew

I was a member of the college football team at Somaiya College of Science. We played our first and only match in this ground.

Colleague and Friend Harjinder Singh Taking a Nap in the VT Local Train!

2008-12-06T02:21:00.001-08:00

Manish Grover's Birthday, We Had Fun!

2008-11-14T21:29:00.001-08:00

Traditional Day in Church

2008-11-02T01:11:00.000-07:00

Our church members decided to celebrate Kerala Day (the day on which Kerala came into existence) by wearing traditional Kerala "settu sarees". Pictured above are the women of our church. On extreme right is Mercy, my wife.

The Cool Dude with His Cool Glasses

2008-10-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

In the Valley of These Hills Is Where I Live. Picture Taken from Menka's Office in Belapur

2008-10-16T09:14:00.001-07:00

View of the Hills from Our Bungalow in Artist Village

2008-10-02T06:16:00.001-07:00

A Writer at Home, Behind Me Is My Wife!

2008-09-30T10:30:00.003-07:00

Ganga in Gangalayam

2008-07-18T23:41:00.000-07:00

Ganga! My childhood friend loves forests and wild animals and has todate visited and photographed wildlife in around forty wild life sancturies in India.

Unfortunately during a recent trip to Ooty he along with a guide strayed into the forbidden territory of an angry elephant. He was chased by the pachyderm, lifted on horns, and being the diving goalkeeper of our school, he dived to one side. The wild elephant turned and gored him in the back where the horn entered his body and narrowly missed the spinal column and aorta.

The wound has healed and he is okay now. Here he is captured on my cellphone camera relaxing in the morning sun inside his bungalow in Chembur which we fondly call "Gangalayam."

Undeterred by the experience, he vows to go back into the forests once again. He has had a long association with wild life sancturies and nature parks, having been instrumental in getting Indira Gandhi to anoint Silent Valley in Kerala as a national wildlife park. If this hadn't been done, in all probability Silent Valley would have been converted into a huge dam at the cost of the wildlife and plant species there.

How ironic that a man who has campaigned to protect wildlife has been gored by the very creatures he is trying to protect.

Anup and Princy. Happy Married Life!

2008-07-18T23:21:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my cousin Rajanchayan's (on my mother's side) son Anup and Princy, who got married recently. I couldn't attend, though I wanted to. Anup lives and works in South Africa. It is said he was in school with the likes of Malayalam film actor Prithviraj, though I didn't check with him.

Anup and Princy were in Bombay to finalise visa formalities for Princy. He called me and I found that he was staying in the hotel near my office and told them to come over. Here they are in the atrium of Akruti Trade Center, Andheri, where I work.

A very happy married life to you both.

Man about Town

2008-06-29T21:39:00.001-07:00

Been wandering around town and these are images I caught:

This lingerie maker is taking things a bit far, methinks!

This is the crowd outside Andheri station which is so crowded commuters constantly look down to see what muck they are walking into.

This hoarding promises to teach English speaking for Rs 599 only! Amazing! I have been learning English all my life and still think my English is weak!

The new and spruced up Metro. I stood in queue but had to beat a hasty retreat when I saw the price of tickets. I used to watch movies for Rs 3.30 in the same theatre once! Now it cost 280 for what they call a Gold Seat. Are the seats made of Gold, or something? Even then it's unreasonable. Don't know, I couldn't even enter, the price kept me away.

I shot this in the atrium of a building I visited. The rings you see are the balconies of different floors. On top is the transparent roof.

2008-05-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

It's my son Ronnie who is the actual bike freak. Here he is meditating (sort of) in front of the bike I bought him from my wife's savings. He has quite expensive tastes as you can see, besides bikes he loves Bollywood films, MTV reality shows, music, muzak, mujic (rap, weird sounding screeches he calls music, Michael Jackson), and still watches cartoon television. He is doing engineering in computer science and like all youngsters has a cavalier **attitude** towards life and the situations around him.

Me on a Pulsar, 200 cc.

2008-05-15T03:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a life-long ambition to ride a bike. At least, I have done it vicariously on my friend's 200 cc Pulsar.

2008-05-15T03:09:00.001-07:00

Caferati Bombay May 2008

2008-05-14T08:56:00.001-07:00

Caferati Bombay May 2008
Originally uploaded by soney

Suniti caught me at the May 2008 readmeet of Caferati.

Caferati Bombay May 2008

2008-05-14T08:51:00.001-07:00

Caferati Bombay May 2008
Originally uploaded by soney

Me reading a travel piece I wrote on my recent visit to Kerala at Caferati's May 2008 read meet.

2008-05-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

From right: My wife Mercy (laughing with her mouth closed), son Ronnie and Mercy's sister Molly outside Molly's beautiful home in Keezhvaipur in Kerala. No, Ronnie doesn't fly Emirates, though he will fly if Emirates gives him free tickets for advertising their airline.

2008-05-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

These are my schoolmates from left: Chandran, Ajit and Sarasa. We met at Grand Central in Chembur because our school Adarsha Vidyalaya was situated in Chembur.

March 2008 Caferati Meet

2008-03-15T02:21:00.000-07:00

The March 2008 meet of Caferati was held at Kareena Merchant's lovely house in Nepean Sea Road. The terrace where the meet was held faced the sea and had a really good aura, adorned by exotic flowers, and caressed by the cool wind from the sea. A good time was had, doubtless.

Me, My Present Job

2008-03-15T02:18:00.001-07:00

This is me at my present job. A bit of relaxation in the heavy, neck-deep schedule of work. I write corporate communications, brochures, press releases, and edit the in-hourse journals.

March 2008 Caferati Readmeet Against the Setting Sun

2008-03-15T02:06:00.000-07:00

This is me holding forth at the March 2008 meet of Caferati. I read my poem "The Platform". A detailed report on my main blog (writer poet John P Matthew's daily blog).

The Kala Ghoda Festival - Pictures

2008-02-16T07:19:00.001-08:00

The Kala Ghoda Festival just concluded at, where else, Kala Ghoda. Well there used to be a Kala Ghoda (Black Horse) here -- though I haven't seen it -- carrying the supreme behind of HRH Edward IV or some such dignitary of yesteryears. As one who is drawn to this area of Mumbai, having worked there close to four years of my life, and having passed the area every morning close to a quarter of my life time, this area has a deep resonance as far as art, literature, culture (though I am not the culture-vulture type), eating, etc. are concerned. I have sat at the old "Woodside Inn" and ate, I have seen art shows by Husssein and Souza, I have drank the potion at Samovar and Paris Craze (which is now "Soul Fry Casa" or some such), I have seen movies at the Stuttgart Hall at the Max Mueller Bhavan and ogled girls of an agency that specialised in employing only good looking girls. Well I have done it all, and more.

So imagine my surprise when I land up in this festival and find that instead of a festival of the Western type this one was our typical Indian "Kumbh Mela" with giant wheels and sculptures of a man and a horse. Wherever we go we generate a lot of noise and this crowd was generating a noise equal to several trains arriving at Victoria Terminus simultaneously. And there were fighting calendar sellers, book sellers, curio sellers, ice cream and gol gappa sellers, the works!

What warmed the innards was the literary section tucked into the David Sassoon Library garden (I am a life member of this library and was a managing committee member once). At the poetry slam pictured above, one could see heart-felt poetry being recited and sung with theatrical gestures and improvisations. Arka Mukhopadhyaya wore a smallish drum around his neck, which he beat sporadically. A good time was had by poetry lovers. Actually as Rashmi Dhanwani said, "It isn't an audience, audience, but friends and relations of the performers." To cut this long rambling short the friends and family of the performers (yes my friends were on stage too) had a good time.

The Winter Sun

2007-12-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

The mellow winter sun filtering into my house! I thought it made a pretty picture, so I fetched my camera and went "click, click!"

2007-11-10T01:55:00.000-08:00

Ronnie with his "Terminator" look.

2007-11-10T01:53:00.000-08:00

This is Ronnie with me seated at my laptop in the background.

2007-11-04T04:53:00.000-08:00

My sister Babyammamma (third from left) with her best friend Rajalakshmi (second from left) and former colleagues at the engagement ceremony. All are retired government servants.

2007-11-04T04:44:00.000-08:00

Ronnie (right) with my brother's son Joel at the engagement of their cousin Ancy at the Abbot Hotel in Vashi, New Bombay.

2007-11-04T04:29:00.000-08:00

Isn't the bride-to-be beautiful? Ancy with a bouquet on the occasion of her engagement ceremony.

2007-11-04T04:17:00.000-08:00

This is ol' grandpop me with my grandchildren at the engagement of my neice (Ancy, in picture below on left with her fiancee Saju and friends). On my left in this picture are Riya and Alby grandchildren of my sister Lillykutty and on right is Neha, my brother's daughter.

2007-11-04T04:03:00.000-08:00

The Valley Park, CBD Belapur

2007-10-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is the "Valley Park" where I go for a walk every Morning. In the mornings there is a profusion of bird sounds in this pristine forest land in CBD Belapur.

Dan Performing Dastangoi at the Kala Ghoda Festival

2007-10-24T03:54:00.001-07:00

2007-10-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

My new Writing Bureau, bought just yesterday!

2007-10-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

This is Ronnie from up close.

The Apocalyptic Rain

2007-09-25T02:05:00.000-07:00

Rain clouds outside Vashi Infotech Park where I work!

The Movie Addict's Diary

2007-09-25T01:57:00.000-07:00

The Movie Addict's Diary - is a special diary, in the collection of poet and architect Savio Lobo, circa early 1900s. It has pages with pictures of film stars of yesteryears, Yul Brynner, for instance. Savio treasures this leather bound diary, which can be held in the palm of the hand, and is so elegantly filled by the owner with addresses of his friends, similar movie buffs, I assume.

Savio also collects old gramophone records, and has a collection of 5,000 of them, all cataloged and in good condition. Savio also collects first day and last day editions of newspapers, a interesting hobby besides writing poetry and designing buildings.

Me and my guitar!

2007-09-25T01:40:00.000-07:00

This is me holding my favorite instrument, the guitar!

Me, in Saudi Arabia

2007-09-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

This is me with friends in the residential camp in Saudi Arabia. Trouble identifying me? The guy with the broad smile, looking a bit like Rajnikanth - "The Boss" - is me!

This Building, I Built!

2007-09-25T00:36:00.000-07:00

This is the building I, sorry, our company, built in Saudi Arabia. It is the head quarters of Islamic Development Bank and is the tallest building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Pictures of Kritya International Poetry Festival

2007-07-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

Eminent Malayalam Poet K. Satchidanandan with Indian English poet Mani Rao

These are some pictures of me (reading my poem) and other poets at the Kritya International Poetry Festival. Poets from around the world presented poems ranging from sound poems to wallpaper poems. The Indian contingent was well represented with Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam and English poets.

Ronnie's Childhood Album

2007-07-23T05:27:00.000-07:00

The Kritya International Poetry Festival, Thiruvananthapuram - Pictures

2007-07-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

Me, somewhere in the eighties!

2007-07-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

Oh! This is so embarassing and at the same time maudlin nostalgic! This is the way I looked somewhere in the eighties when I was editor of Ambit - The Journal of the Bombay Management Association. I had long hair (: See, son, I had hair then :) even then! Beside me is my trusted remington portable (a gift from JP deSousa (Jr.)) on which I typed editorials of Ambit (not to mention my first short story and articles), which since has rusted so much so that I had to sell it off for a rhyme.

For three years I enjoyed my editorship though I was paid only peanuts, but, those days in Army and Navy Building, Kala Ghoda, were halcyon, no doubt!

Ronnie in the courtyard of our Kerala house

2007-06-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is Ronnie when he was around eight years old in the courtyard of our house in Kerala. Courtyards in Kerala are filled with sand or pebbles. Our courtyard is filled with sand and that keeps away the creepy crawlies. The weather in kerala being equatorial, there are a lot of these creatures of humidity and warmth around. Anyway, for the picture I used a white towel to get the white glow on Ronnie's face. But the effect wasn't that flattering. Anyway.

A terrible self-portrait

2007-06-05T01:40:00.001-07:00

A terrible self-portrait
Originally uploaded by dan_husain

This is Dan Husain's self portrait which he has termed "Terrible." It isn't terrible compared to some of the pictures I have taken. Dan's efforts at spreading the oral tradition of story telling called "Dastangoi" (blog). Drag your lazy selves there for a visit. You would be glad I recommended.

Bombay Readmeet-May 07

2007-05-31T03:14:00.001-07:00

Bombay Readmeet-May 07
Originally uploaded by soney

With Abhigyan Jha, the director of the movie "Sacred Evil" at the May 2007 Caferati readmeet.

Our Church in Kerala

2007-05-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

This is our recently rebuilt church in Kidangannoor, Kerala. It is unique in the sense that all members belong to one family. A necrophobe, prone to thought of death often, I sometimes have dour thoughts about lying here one day, near my father and mother.

Airplane beverage

2007-05-28T02:27:00.001-07:00

Airplane beverage
Originally uploaded by jennie

I am sitting here in the office and wish I could take a sip of this amber liquid. (Courtesy: Jenny)

Bombay Readmeet-May 07

2007-05-28T01:58:00.001-07:00

Bombay Readmeet-May 07
Originally uploaded by soney

Reading my short story "The Girl Who Fell in Love with Shahrukh Khan" at the May Readmeet of Caferati (courtesy: Suniti Joshi)

Feeling nostalgic about shifting office!

2007-05-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

This is me with the office staff before we shifted office to another part of Vashi Infotech Park. The park is just above Vashi station so it saves me a lot of commuting time. The park is full of open space such as the one where this photograph is taken and the door behind us leads to our old office. Guess nostalgia is something that will always haunt me.

My Bungalow in Kerala

2007-05-21T04:02:00.000-07:00

My Bungalow in Kerala is surrounded by lush vegetation including: rubber, coconut, teak, Indian Laburnum, etc. It has all comforts including running water, electricity, gas, etc. In the early morning it is a glorious sight when the sun light falls on the leaves and the dappled shadows falls on the walls of my abode. This is where I repair to for a few weeks, my getaway.

John P Matthew’s getaway

2007-05-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

This is Ganga and me at our monthly party. You must have seen him in the Clinic Plus ad (he is the sagely looking teacher who is shown teaching young children about ayurveda and some such thing....). He has also acted in movies and directed documentaries. He is an advertising copy writer (one of India's best) and co-owns a six-crore-billing advertising agency. We were in the same class in Adarsha Vidyalaya, Chembur.

Video of Our Boys on the Ganpatipule Beach

2007-05-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

On the Way to Ganpatipule

2007-05-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

This is me and my colleagues on the way to the pristine beach of Ganpatipule 200 kilometers away from Bombay. We crested a hill and the view ahead of us was magnificient. So we paused, and posed!

Mercy and Ronnie

2007-05-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

My wife Mercy and son Ronnie at a church picnic at Green Hills, Nalasopara.

Me in a Cab

2007-05-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

Asheeth caught me in a cab, on the way to an SandC meeting.

Our School Graduation Photo

2007-05-02T22:45:00.000-07:00

This photo always breaks my heart. It was a sad parting when we finished our term of 11th standard and parted with our school Adarsha Vidyalaya in Chembur. I am second from left on the last row. My hair was combed in the style of the day (my son doesn't believe I had hair on my skull at all, but I had tumbling locks of hair that I kept long). Ganga is the one with the locks falling over his forehead. We were rivals then as he was heading the Yellow House and I was heading the Green House.

We (Ganga, Sanjeevan, Ajit, Chandran, Anil, Shankaran, Sarasa, Geeta, Felix) relive those happy days by meeting at Ganga's house every month. Nowadays when we meet we are friends and rivalries are forgotten.

My school buddies. We were in school together and still meet!

2007-04-02T00:46:00.000-07:00

Me and my school friends

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These are my school buddies. We meet once in a month and relive the magic of our childhood.

My Colleagues on the way to Ganpatipule

2007-03-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

My colleagues on the way to Ganpatipule: From left: Krunal, Raju, Sachin, Sandeep, Srikar and Sunil

The Shakespeare and Company meeting in progress in Bombay at the Tea Center

2007-02-04T03:53:00.000-08:00

Shabana Azmi with Asheeth in the background in the white tee shirt!

2007-02-04T03:49:00.000-08:00

Javed Akhtar and Shabhana Azmi at at a reading of Javed's poems at the Kala Ghoda festival

2007-02-04T03:47:00.000-08:00

Me and Asheeth at Marine Drive, Bombay

2007-02-04T03:44:00.000-08:00

My sister and her daughters

2007-01-26T06:15:00.000-08:00

This is my elder sister Babyammamma and her daughters Beena (in Maroon with her husband's nephew) and Binu (in sky blue with her son Kevin and daughter Diana).

This is me karaokaying "Break Out to to the Other Side" at Turquose Cottage

2007-01-18T05:08:00.000-08:00

This definitely proves I have a wild side to me. This is me singing at the Turquose Cottage karaoke night in Delhi

2007-01-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

Another good online friend and now offline friend Rekha Nambiar is an interior designer. Some of the chairs in the picture are designed by her at her workshop in NOIDA.

2007-01-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

Vijay Nair is a successful corporate lawyer and bears an uncanny resemblance to Malayalam matinee star Mammooty, my favorite actor.

Another good friend Rekha Nambiar is an interior designer. The chairs seen in the picture are designed and manufactured by her in her own workshop in NOIDA.

2007-01-11T08:41:00.000-08:00

A smorgasbord of magazines on the Connaught Place pavement.

2007-01-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

The Mac seems to be very popular. There wasn't any seating space for poor me!

The sun setting against a backdrop of parked cars.

This is a giant Swiss Knife, a favorite implement of mine.

"Just another wasted sunset" goes a song, don't remember the singer's name.

2007-01-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

The fog. The cubic structure behind the onlookers is the skylight of the Metro.

The Cafe Coffee Day outlet from where I blogged. You can see the screen of my computer.

This is a view of Cafe Coffee Day. It's all shiny with the reflections on glass.

An array of beautiful shawls in a shop in Connaught Place. The owner was indignant, "Is it for a calendar, or, something?" I was asked. I said it was for my own satisfaction.

2007-01-11T08:09:00.000-08:00

The Delhi fog is evident in this picture

Garima and Bobbin James

2007-01-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

2007-01-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

This is Subbu the Karaoke Jockey with Sachin. Some of the wonderful friends I made in Delhi.

Shashi Kiran, Asheeth Manu and Garima Kaushik are all smiles.

Bobbin James, Shashi Kiran, Asheeth Manu and Garima posing for my camera.

Bobbin James, Rajaraman (of Outlook), Garima, Asheeth, Subbu, and Nitin (Bohemian Rhapsody) at a dhaba we went for parathas.